“Guru Purnima” – A Festival to guide us from ‘darkness to light’ – Can anything “noble” be expected from any of the pillars of Democracy?

guru purnima festival messages – A Festival to guide us from ‘darkness to light’ – Can anything “noble” be expected from any of the pillars of Democracy?

“Mangal Mangal naam Hari Hari Om…” the bhajan sung by Saint Shri Asharamji Bapu (endearingly called ‘Bapuji’) has fascinated many lives towards spiritualism. What to say, even the people with zero spiritual inclination, entirely against ‘worship of a person as God’, in His discourse sessions, turned into staunch followers of Him. People used to reach to His discourse sessions from small towns, villages, abroad any/ everywhere throughout the world especially on the occasion of Guru Purnima. The discourse (Satsang) spot appeared to be the place of either a pilgrimage or a world full of Peace and Bliss, entirely different from the real-time materialistic world. Bapuji could mesmerize thousands of people for hours and the ambience used to be very similar to what you could have ever imagined in the era of Lord Rama and Lord Krishna. He ran many campaigns that transformed the lives of numerous people and made them vice & addiction free, inculcated great values in children & the youth and in turn, many of such children reformed the lives of their friends and near& dear ones by making them quit the habits of drinking, smoking etc. Many depressed ones got saved from sins like suicide commitment and adopting wrong life-style owing to taking inspiration from His discourses and ashram literature, which also includes monthly spiritual magazines like Rishi Prasad (which would complete 25 years on this Guru Poonam), Lok Kalyan Setu etc. ‘Swadeshi’ and simple life style recommended by Him is one of the main reasons He has been sore in the eyes of multi-national product brands; as their economy got adversely affected by His discourses. Mr. Suresh Chavhanke, Chairman of Hinduism based TV channel – Sudarshan has spoken in detail on this (Refer link). Obviously, the increased number of Bal Sanskar Kendras (17,000+), 425 ashrams across the world, numerous Yoga Vedanta Sewa Samitis and lakhs of children participating in the competitions like Divya Prerna Pratiyogita (Divine Inspiration Contest) based upon the importance of celibacy and Vedanta knowledge, would definitely be the cause of worry for the conspirers – whose liquor, drugs and expensive cosmetics will have no scope to flourish in India.

Commending His sewa activities, our then President of India – Late Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam had quoted:

“The Ashram’s work in trying to uplift the poor and downtrodden should continue in the future also. Various spiritual and humanitarian endeavors for the welfare of the humanity especially through the message of love and brotherhood are worthy activities for the uplift of the society.” See More

For those who are sensible enough to understand it’s significance and relevance, the main ashram at Ahmedabad is like a paradise on the earth with extremely spiritual & soothing vibes, especially at the primary spots in the premises, few of those being: Moksha Kuteer, Maa Mehengiba Sthal and Shri Leelashah ji’s place; along with separate accommodation arrangements for males and females. The day at ashram starts with a cool breeze along with morning Sandhya Vandan, that comprises of prayers, mantra chants, listening and contemplation of Bapuji’s discourse audios, and devotional songs & kirtans, followed by noon and evening Sandhya Vandan; meditation, yajnas, rituals etc.; to add to that, there are trees in the premises with extra bundle of spiritual & positive energy, few of those being – Pipal, Banyan, Margosa (Neem) and Gooseberry (Amla) trees, along with Basil (Tulsi) plants; with all this, one can have an ecstatic world’s experience being in the ashram. The students learning Sitar and other musical instruments in the ashram gurukul with ‘alaap and raga’ make it further awesome. Banyan tree (‘Vat Vriksha’ – referred to as ‘Vad- Badshah’ in ashram), which is consecrated by Bapuji, is a desire fulfilling tree for those with faith, and many devotees, by praying there, have cherished their dreams. The ashram sewa activities like, those of packing Ayurvedic medicines and preparing meals for the devotees, are performed while doing ‘mantra – japa’. Many-a-times, even ‘Om’ (ॐ) has appeared on the flat breads (‘rotis’) prepared by the devotees or on uncooked vegetables grown by the devotees. At times, one could even hear the screaming sounds, cries and laughter in Bapuji’s discourse sessions, not due to worldly reasons, but due to awakening of the ‘kundalani’ in most of the attendees. A small piece of sweetmeats given by Him as ‘Prasaadi’ transformed many lives and people used to be in queue to have that from their revered Guru as blessing.

We disciples miss those days spent in ashram, where our beloved Bapuji could make His physical form easily accessible to every single attendee in the discourse session via His Satsang-Pandaal train (with a glass cabinet) , which was referred to as His ‘gaadi’; and a bhajan used to be sung at the background : ‘Gaadi chali hai Guru ke darbar mein…’

Unfortunately, now that ‘gaadi’ is changed into a police-van, from where one could barely see His hands and face.

All the ancient civilizations were destroyed by the aggressors, including those of Egypt and Rome. Only Indian culture of Vedanta is still flourishing and hence it’s been the target of anti-social elements. Lord Macaulay had enacted the Indian Education Act in 1858 to suppress the Indian culture, thereby destroying temples, Gurukuls and many religious places; humiliating spiritual leaders and sending them to prisons. On top, he made English language compulsory and banned Sanskrit. Stringent actions were taken against those using traditional Indian ways of learning and teaching. In 1850 there were 7, 32,000 Gurukuls in India. But because of Macaulay’s Act, Calcutta, Bombay and Madras University replaced the Gurukul system of education, with so called “modern” system of education, which prepared students with hate and disrespect for their own culture, nation, customs and traditions and the feel of pride in using English language. The way our youth sings Hollywood and Bollywood songs these days, the youth in that era chanted mantras in Sanskrit which is otherwise a hard nut for today’s children & youth to crack.

Bapuji, who is a Self- Realized saint, has made us aware of our cultural values and the glory of Vedanta. When India was about to become the world’s spiritual leader due to the endeavors & self-less efforts of Bapuji and other saints; unfortunately the conspirators succeeded in their plans owing to their “perfect” homework which they had started since 2008; as a result of which, the police had entered all the holy places of ashrams wearing boots, dragged Bapuji like a criminal, that too when He was open to communicate (something that could be resolved at that moment without arrest), on-top, He was not even allowed to carry His holy mat. Prior to His incarceration, He, carrying His rosary, was made to sit in discomfort the whole night, and was not even given proper place to take rest while being taken from one place to other. He was made to sleep in the midst of the shoes of the police personnel in the van.

A saint, in whose vicinity, or near whose lotus feet, many people got their misfortune transformed into good fortune, was being moved so disrespectfully! Our human rights association hardly took a note of it. He was not given proper food facilities at the initial stage. He, at whose indication, even Milk Rivers could flow, found it hard to even add milk in His diet due to our procedural discrepancies. Even medical facilities were provided to Him after prolonged discussions.

A saint, who has given us protection & liberation from bad habits, vices and the circles of death & birth through initiation, is suffering from many pains, like that of His ailment – Trigeminal Neuralgia, along with ailing wife, the son arrested in fake case; moreover, during this span, he saw loss of lives of his son’s father in law and his own nephew, for which, the only reason has been – this fake & baseless case (since August 2013). Many witnesses were attacked and killed; and the allegations were leveled against Bapuji for such incidents. Many of His ashrams have been destroyed without any reason. He, before His arrest, addressed His disciples, telling to keep patience and chant mantra, and that – by means of the interrogation, the conspirators have hatched conspiracy and would twist the case in such a manner that it would become quite next to impossible for Him to come back. Refer link.

Can’t you see the same as happened during the reins of East India Company, like – Cultural attack by targeting saints, creating apprehensions & disrespect for our saints, destroying their buildings (ashrams), questioning their assets, as were looted by the conspirators in the ancient era; thus, the history is repeating itself and we are still ignorant.

Nirbhaya case, Meenakshi case and suicides of girls due to molestation, girls leaving schools & colleges because of being mentally tortured by the remarks of boys are still occurring in the society. I believe that the woman’s respect must be at the top priority of the nation. I am not against women laws, women rights and women empowerment. I do not have personal grudges with the alleged minor rape victim, but when it comes to a true saint; we need to be more cautious. We need to ask ourselves, as to – whether, by favoring one single life of the said girl, that too at the cost of destruction of our cultural values in the youth & the children, are we leading our nation towards the same path of chains of slavery? How many people are aware of the fact that the ashram and Ahmedabad Gurukul girls were threatened by the conspirators and were also given temptations of money to give false statements for Bapuji? But the girls are strong supporters of Bapuji hence they denied to give any such statement.

By becoming “gender biased”, aren’t we indirectly standing in the queue of conspirators? The laws need to be reformed, provisions of the POCSO Act need to be reformed. Moreover, our thought processes needs to be reformed and an investigation must be carried-out in nation’s interest to know as to who is behind the conspiracy.

As it’s said:

Meaning: Who is more important? Guru – The spiritual mentor or God; who should be given priority when both are standing in front of you? And then it is said that the significance of the Guru (Mentor) is much more, as He shows His disciples the path to reach God.

Bapuji is a saint with the same spiritual heights, who can lead us towards the path of the Almighty, failing in protecting whom we are harming ourselves.

We are living in our nation, not in the conspirators’ land; hence we all are entitled to have justice without bias.

We hope and wish that the Guru Purnima will this time prove that conspirers cannot survive in the nation. Justice can be said to prevail only if great saints are Bapuji are acquitted without any further procrastination and delays!